Copyright Music

[jgparker59]

I've been inspired lately and wrote about 20 Christian Rock songs along the veins of Def Leppard, Rush and progressive 80's. My question is what's the cheapest way to protect or copyright these? I remember the "poor man's" way of sending it to yourself but was reading on the net that it won't necessarily hold up in court. Can I maybe copyright the whole collection of 20 songs as one piece for one fee? Anyone done this or worked with copyrights please respond. Thanks!

 

[swass]

Don't know how well this method holds out legally but make a copy of the songs on disc and mail them to yourself. Don't open it once it comes back to you. The sealed envelope and post mark holds the validity of when the music was written. That's as cheap as it comes.

 

[Stratman68]

Record the songs, even just the words and guitar chords. I did that many years ago. Works fine. You can get the info at the US copyright website.

 

[Geezerjohn]

I hold dozens of copyrights, and a servicemark (some would incorrectly call it a trademark). Mailing a disc to yourself is a waste of time and postage and DOES NOT provide any copyright protection, in spite of what you are being told to the contrary. The only way to secure copyright protection is to have a valid approved copyright registered at the library of congress.

Since you indicate that you wrote a bunch of songs, you really need to decide if you want to have each song copyrighted individually, or as a "collection". Pros and cons. If you copyright each song as an individual work, then you bear the cost of the fees and have to fill out the forms for each work. You must fill out the form for a copyrighted work, mail in what you are copyrighting (music, lyrics, both). The con is the cost, but the pro is that each song is an individual work, so if another artist, or someone is interested in a specific song, you can negotiate for that song. If you copyright multiple songs as a collection, the pro is that you save money on fees, but the con is if you grant permission to use your copyrighted work, the copyright is for the ENTIRE collection. Typically, another party is usually just interested in one song , not a bunch of them. If the collection is the copyrighted work, you have to grant permission to use the collection. That could mean far more financial loss than fees for copyrights.

I suggest (strongly) that if you really want to protect your work, you copyright each song as a work, starting with your strongest material. Spread the costs out, perhaps submitting one song per month until you have copyrighted all of your songs have all of your work protected. It may take a while, but in the long run you will have copyright protection for your songs, and be in a better position in the event another well known artist is interested in your work. Since you mentioned your songs are Christian, do not confuse CCLI with copyrights, and do not confuse publishing rights with copyright protection. They are NOT the same thing.

You are welcome to PM me to discuss.

 

[jgparker59]

Alright, thanks for the responses. All I'm looking for is that someone does not steal my compositions. Not really worried about other artists wanting my songs (I should be so lucky). So yes, I have the songs recorded with guitar, drums and vocals/lyrics. Is there just a form for protecting the whole collection and then when it gets serious enough, I will copyright each song individually? Geezerjohn, did you ever do a "collection" and do you have a link for the right form? Thanks!

 

[Geezerjohn]

Alright, thanks for the responses. All I'm looking for is that someone does not steal my compositions. Not really worried about other artists wanting my songs (I should be so lucky). So yes, I have the songs recorded with guitar, drums and vocals/lyrics. Is there just a form for protecting the whole collection and then when it gets serious enough, I will copyright each song individually? Geezerjohn, did you ever do a "collection" and do you have a link for the right form? Thanks!

When I first needed to copyright songs, I consulted an attorney. There is no different form for a "collection" as opposed to a single song. Same form. It is my understanding that once you copyright a collection you cannot re-copyright the individual works so I never did a collection. Like many writers, my hope is to get my music to a large listening audience. A collection severely limits what your options are for just one song. In copyright terms you are not copyrighting a "song" you are copyrighting a work. The work can be an individual song, or a collection. As far as stealing goes, a copyright is a very narrow protection. There have been many court cases where one party tried to claim that another party had violated their copyright. The famous George Harrison "My Sweet Lord" vs "He's So Fine" is a famous example.

There is a difference between a "copyright" and copyright protection. In copyright terms, as soon as you put something in the public marketplace, it is your intellectual property, but it has no protection (as your property) until it is copyrighted (official form and of course the fees). That is why the "mail it to yourself" is worthless. You have no copyright protection until it is recognized by the office of copyrights as your property. Some people think that if they put the (c) after something that it protects their work. Not so.

Forms are available from the office of copyrights. I suggest you go to the website for copyrights. There is a lot of information there. There are a few forms but the key difference is copyrighting a "work", which is typically intellectual property like a song. You can download the forms and instructions. First one seems difficult, but it is actually a very easy process. Again, I suggest you start with your best song, and then copyright your songs over time to ease the pain of the fees. I hope this helps you.

 

[Sidivan]

There is a difference between a "copyright" and copyright protection. In copyright terms, as soon as you put something in the public marketplace, it is your intellectual property, but it has no protection (as your property) until it is copyrighted (official form and of course the fees). That is why the "mail it to yourself" is worthless. You have no copyright protection until it is recognized by the office of copyrights as your property. Some people think that if they put the (c) after something that it protects their work. Not so.

Strange. The US Copyright office disagrees with you. U.S. Copyright Office - Copyright in General (FAQ)

Do I have to register with your office to be protected?
No. In general, registration is voluntary. Copyright exists from the moment the work is created. You will have to register, however, if you wish to bring a lawsuit for infringement of a U.S. work.

If you record the songs and release them on a disc, the copyright C, name of artist, and year it was released is all you need for protection. You cannot, however, bring a case of copyright infringement to court without registration.

Fun fact about service marks: Simply registering them doesn't mean you own it indefinitely. Service mark protection is earned through usage, not registration. If you register something and never use it, somebody else can use the crap out of it and then sue you for rights. This prevents people from "camping" trade names.

 

[Geezerjohn]

Strange. The US Copyright office disagrees with you. U.S. Copyright Office - Copyright in General (FAQ)
If you read my post I am making the argument for copyright protection. I actually made the point that the work is copyrighted as soon as the work is put into the public domain. I also made the point that there is no protection unless it is registered. Seems the Office of Copyrights agrees completely.

If you record the songs and release them on a disc, the copyright C, name of artist, and year it was released is all you need for protection. You cannot, however, bring a case of copyright infringement to court without registration.

So if you cannot bring a case of copyright infringement without registration, exactly what "protection" do you get from releasing a disc with the (c) , name of the artist, etc.? How about none. You are making my point regarding the need to register your work to have protection, (meaning being able to bring a case for copyright infringement).

Fun fact about service marks: Simply registering them doesn't mean you own it indefinitely. Service mark protection is earned through usage, not registration. If you register something and never use it, somebody else can use the crap out of it and then sue you for rights. This prevents people from "camping" trade names.

Servicemark is similar trademark, only trademark protects specific goods like Pepsi, and the servicemark usually indicates a name or provider of a specific service. You are correct in that they do not last forever (neither does a copyright). You have no servicemark or trademark protection unless the trademark or servicemark is generally recognized as yours. Any competent copyright attorney will likely tell you that. If you do register a name, and someone else uses it during your ownership, you do have legal standing. You may have legal standing if it is not registered. The more you use the name in the public square the more difficult it is for the other party to claim that they did not know the name was yours and that they were infringing. Even a simple public notice does tell the public that you are using the name and is enough to inform the public that you are using the name. That said, registering the name provides legal presumption, and that is a dig deal. Once you have legal presumption, the burden falls to the other party to prove that you do not own the name, without the presumption, you have to prove that you do own it. Since the OP was just interested in protecting his songs, my advice was how he can protect his songs. As you said, without copyright protection, he cannot bring a case of copyright infringement to court. My point exactly.

We are all entitled to our opinion. As mentioned above I hold many many copyrights on songs, and did endure the process of gaining a servicemark. I would encourage you to read "All You Need To Know About The Music Business" by Donald S. Passman. It is an extremely well researched and written reference book. I believe that it is in the 6th or 7th edition. Passman is with the Law Firm Gang, Tyre, Ramer & Brown. He has specialized in the music business for over 40 years. His client list is a who's who of the music elite. It is a great book and provides great advice for any musician.